The eerie hum of a light buzzed overhead, the silence of the air filled ears to the brim while a gentle wind brushed dust and small paper pieces across the ground. The world seemed still and nothing moved save for the smatterings of the ground against nature. However the silence was quickly broken as a women screamed out. Her voice rang across the room and into the nearby rooms. Her ear-shattering howl sent them into shock, they all screeched and squalled at her noise. They were terrified, but not alone. A deep voice spoke from across the room.

"They are here! You must hide!" He threw his hands up and out as if to throw a blanket over someone. "They are coming! We can't hold them off!" The voice now evidently more elderly than previously. His voice was shaky with fear, but it held together the leadership role for now.

"We can't hide! We have to run! We must go! Oh what will happen!? Oh lord!" The woman cried out into the heavens with her voice echoing through the rooms. She screamed and hollered louder and louder.

"Hush woman! You must silence yourself! The Little Ones must be taken to safety! Now go!" The Elderly man commanded to her while shaking a fist.

The kids in the room screamed out in tears. Their fear had them frozen for a time but the shock and sadness finally sat in. They cried and balled, squalled and called for parents. They were utterly helpless! Their panic also set the woman into a crippled fetal position of surrender.

"Have no fear, Children! Madam! I am here to save you from the feral monsters!" The voice came from behind the children, a stoic voice deep and young. A man clad in armor made of steel and rust with a mighty blade polished to the nines stepped from the shadows. "I shall seek justice and protect ye! Now have at ye feral beings!" The man said with great gusto as a series of grotesque creatures came jumping through a hole in a wall.

"Maaaargh! KILL HIM!" The one screeched to the two beside it. They quickly flung themselves at the armored man, wielding make-shift club like weapons. They tussled and fought, and the beasts wreak havoc against the male, but he began to overcome their fighting, and finally slayed them! Their leader growled in protest and ran like the coward he was back through the wall.

"Aye! Now we are all safe!" The man said in great joy to the kids and the woman and the old man.

"Yaaaaay!" The kids rejoiced and jumped and danced!

"My hero!" The woman said as she swooned and fell against the armored man with her left leg kicking back and her eyes closing.

"You did it, Lad. You saved us all once again. Whatever would we do, without our Hero."

"That my Children, is the tale of the great Knight. The people were safe, and they all lived happily ever after." Daniel spoke to the kids as he sat in a chair. The dingy metal chair was barely a comfy seat for him, but he had nothing else but the floor. The three kids sat on the large paletted bed that had been made for them. Many layers of cloth and fluff and stuffing packed up on a few wooden palettes to provide them a good bed, each with their pillow. They were all extremely young, no more than four for the oldest. "It is time to sleep now, everyone. Let's lay our heads down to rest, and think of the Knight. For what is to come?"

"The shining sun of 'Morrow, and the great giff of life." They all said in unison, albeit a little off or with a young lisp to each their own way of speaking.

They slowly crawled into bed, all getting snuggled up in their nests of cloth and blankets, curling up and nestling against one another while beginning to snore off to sleep. The bleak reality of the world was shut out in Daniel's eyes as he watched over them a moment. However it quickly returned as he stood up and turned to look out though the window of the room. He looked over Rochester and it's current state, the desolation, the dust-filled air. The stale grey of the world soaked into every corner that wasn't already rust-brown and covered in filth. The air sang with little noise, ticks and bumps of the aging structures, wild creatures fighting off in the distance echoing across the ruins of toppled and standing skyscrapers. Darkness sank through the sky and the night flew swiftly. The sun kissed the heaven's goodbye and sank below the earth. Night had fallen, and now Daniel was left with the Rochester crew, looking after these kids, and one another.

He had seen several newcomers arrive as of the past few months, the numbers they once had gone, and these new numbers were only minute compared to the original crew. However Daniel knew numbers were best, despite his unease towards, he felt it was better to trust them temporarily than dismiss them all for good. So he sat in the main room, the most protected room, where everyone generally gathered, keeping an eye on these children.

Nikos

"You're good with them," Nikos commented absentmindedly, voice low as he squinted at the paper in his lap. Six feet and curled into himself to draw, he looked deceptively small. And it was only when the kids scurried off to the warmth of their blankets that he sat up, rolling his shoulders and stretching his neck. Private in his work, Nikos was quick to slip the sketchbook and accompanying charcoal into his bag. He sniffed as he exchanged it for his water bottle to take a sip and looked around the room. He was one of the newcomers, but unlikely one to bring Daniel unease: he had been here longer than the others and was rarely a source or conduit for conflict. At worse, he eyed women and men alike a little too much, but overall offered a friendly presence and good food.

Sitting up straight, his height showed, though he was thin. His dark hair was kept out of his pale face by a short ponytail, and he was dressed warmly. He replaced his water bottle, dark eyes flickering around the quieting room. Nikos had recovered since first arriving, but he could feel himself growing restless. He likened himself to be the sort to be comfortable where ever he was, but semi-permanence offered by the Bank made him uneasy. He came from a band of nomads, so the claustrophobia slowly setting in wasn't entirely strange or unwarranted.

Nikos sat against the wall, listening to the quiet as children fell asleep and adults settled in to do the same, plagued by their past and anxieties.

---

Riddley

Riddley stood outside, squinting against the darkness. She was restless, always having to be up and about, ideally not surrounded by people. So she stood just outside the bank, light eyes flickering about as her knife danced along her fingers and between her hands. There had to be someone standing guard against the night, she insisted, anything can happen. So she took the job upon herself. Having something to focus on was better than lulling in and out of sleep due to nightmares or grief, anyway, and she enjoyed the...semi-fresh air despite wearing a scarf over her nose to protect herself from it.

Unlike some of the others, Riddley no doubt brought uneasiness to some of the members of the Rochester crew. She was passionate and impatient, easily misjudged as a loose canon. She was intense, her gaze alone piercing. Despite her unrest, she took some comfort in joining the crew and having access to their building and supplies. She had spent her time before drifting between groups, usually finding some excuse to leave. While she allowed herself to hope that the Rochester crew may be different, she didn't count on it, but that wouldn't stop her from putting her energy into helping defend them.

She allowed herself to still, the knife coming to a stop in her palm. Riddley gently replaced it in her boot, not resting her eyes or ears for a moment.

Ajit squinted through his busted glasses as he fiddled with the Swiss Army Knife. He had been going at it for a while now, trying bring a few more of the features back from the dead. He had managed to free a small screwdriver from the clutches of age, but there was already a screwdriver free. A lot of wasted effort for something rather obsolete. However, Ajit continued. The fact that he had a crack in his glasses did not help is concentration, from his perspective a large blot in his vision. Nonetheless, he was still lucky to have the glasses. A remnant from the days when things were good.

Normally he would have made a little joke about the kids going to bed, and at the story of the knight that was told to them, but he was feeling quite exhausted, and besides, he was too wrapped up in his little repairing job. Nonetheless, he shot Daniel a quick smile, and then carried on. Ajit always did his best not to intimidate or frighten anyone in the Rochester crew. He had this sickly fear in the back of his mind that if he did, they would turn on him and cast him out. And what on earth would he do from there? Join the cannibals? Hell no. Ajit could not bear the thought. It was easy to come off as cordial and friendly, at least for him.

Suddenly, a breakthrough. A can opener came lose. Now that was a good thing. "We have a can opener!" He whispered in a louder tone, attempting not to wake the children while grinning happily.

David

David was siting on the floor near the corner of the main room, from his place he could see most of the current occupants, he smiled as he saw the small children fast asleep, 'the children, David...the children...they are humanity's only hope for a brighter future and it is our job as adults to guide them through these dark times' his grandfather's words from all these years ago reverberated in his mind like it was yesterday, his smile fell as reality came crashing down, he unbuttoned his suitcase and took out a piece of paper with his latest research notes and skimmed through it sighing with frustration at the lack of progress nevertheless he will never lose hope as long as he is still breathing "and sane" he whispered to himself as he sighed again and returned the piece of paper before buttoning his suitcase.

He heard the young man...Ajit if he remembered correctly, whispering about them having a can opener, he did not have the slightest idea of how the young man fished out something like that from that old contraption he always saw him fiddling around with, but well, at least now he doesn't need to find sharp metal objects to use them as a makeshift can opener for his soup cans "Good job, it will be pretty useful" he complemented Ajit on his handiwork.

He laid down on the ground trying to find some sleep, luckily he found an old dusty cushion to lay his head on, not the most comfortable thing, but it was much better than the cold hard floor.

Ryk was sitting down in a corner, messing with an old, banged up Zippo lighter. He smiled as the small flame flickered on and off, totally consumed by the event. However, as the little flame slowly died and flickered out, he frowned and tossed it away. The fuel never lasted long enough in this old lighters, he'd found. He looked up to see the kids settling down for bed, and frowned. He had never been a fan of kids, but whatever. He hummed a bit as he started to root around his bag for a new firestarter, but sighed and leaned back, realizing how tired he was. With a yawn, he pulled off his jacket to prop under his head like a pillow and laid down on the floor.

Try as he might though, he couldn't quite drift off. He tossed and turned a bit, before sitting back up with a huff. He'd always had trouble falling asleep without a fire nearby. Back at the Foundry, where everyone slept by the main fire pit, that had seldom been a problem. But nowadays he found himself stuck in a tired limbo before he had to pass out from exhaustion. He sniffed and looked around the room, testing himself to see if he could remember everyone's name. He couldn't, which he mentally kicked himself about. He generally tried to be familiar with the people he was traveling with, although he'd rather they not know he cared so much.

With a sigh, he laid back down, shutting his eyes and curling his body in an attempt to force himself to sleep. He didn't have much success.

Lily leaned her back against the wall, knees drawn to her chest with her stuffed bunny rabbit resting there. She held onto the stubby arms with one hand, the other flopping one of the ragged ears back and forth. It was a habit she had developed ever since she was little and she mostly succumbed to it when she was trying her best to hide her sadness and loneness. She could hear the other occupants settling down for sleep or other things to occupy their time. She had been listening to the story being told to the other children but her eyes had remained focused on her rabbit as though she wasn't paying attention to anything else in the room. She was silent among the soft murmuring of the others, but then again she had barely said one word since her brother had passed away from illness right before her eyes. She knew she should be getting ready for bed but she just couldn't find the energy to move. She was scared to close her eyes. Some nights were good, without any nightmares haunting her dreams. Other nights her brothers sickly, pale face loomed up from the darkness and jolted her awake to a reality that wasn't much better.

The child drew her legs closer as her bunny fell beside her, resting her cheek on her kneecaps as her eyes flickered around the room. Her brown hair fell around her like a curtain and she pushed some strands back behind her ear so she could still see, sighing almost inaudibly. Her eyes started to close against her will and she jerked them open, small body jolting slightly with the will power to not fall asleep.

Despite being one man, Hunter had a collection of listening posts to watch over a collection of clans that have spread themselves out over the city. This particular one was a relatively small one not too long ago, but recently the population has spiked for it. Now, he believed there were enough people in this one to be a considerable threat. Then again, so were many of the cannibals groups, and the bandits... and the people who keep trying to raid his supplies. Unlike most of the groups that seem to be a reasonable threat these people seemed different, they didn't seem hostile... they have actually welcomed people into their group. Most groups that seemed to welcome others in they may not be seen again, but he has seen a few of the new people over and over.

Tonight what got him off guard was someone was actually outside alone in the dark. If his weapon had more range he could in theory take her out, but at this range all he would do is make a loud bang and maybe break some glass. He would have no reason to do this, but he likes to know his options if things decide to take a turn for the worst. Now he wondered if there was someone else out here as well that was watching this place as well, that started to scare him now more then these people. But she was alone, part of him wanted to go down and say hi, anther part of him wondered if she was armed and would kill him if he got close. He felt safe with the shotgun tied to his back, but that was two shots that he would have to remake, two shots that were not easy to remake. Then he considered the value of a human life compared to that of a single bullet, or collection of scrap metal that fires from a barrel.

For now, that didn't matter. What mattered was staying alive, and with this group being most active near his main point of operations this was the group that mattered most to him right now.

Kathryn sat not far off from the children listening in on Daniel's story, despite the fact she was a grown woman she could never resist a good story. Though when it was finished she had a job to do, bandits, thieves, and many other violent people liked to wonder the night as it was harder to be spotted. That's what Kat would do, spend time in the dark long enough to get use to the low light, then travel slowly to scout out the target. Kat walked past Daniel on her way out. "Hey, I am going to go make sure things are still clear outside in case you need me. Also, great story Daniel." Then proceeded to walk outside, to the cold darkness of the world.

It was cold out again, Kathryn many times wished she had a spare blanket or a jacket or something she could wear with her armor so she could feel safe and warm at the same time, but she figured better safe then sorry, and with that if she kept moving she should be fine for a while at least. Though she would keep considering options that would work with her armor with out limiting her mobility even more.

Kat didn't get far before spotting Riddley, a girl not much younger then Kat herself. She was a wild card, out of control, many time dangerous, and very cute all things considering. But that was not the center focus, the center focus was that Riddley was out here alone in the dark. yes, she had one of the few working firearms Kat has ever seen, but still. A bullet only got you so far before you had no choice but to fight hand to hand. Kat still figured she shouldn't stay out here alone, patrolling could wait. "What's the weather like tonight fellow female of the human race?" Kat tried to say in a joking tone while still trying to stay quiet. "Any onlookers we should know about tonight or just the usual onlookers who are too scared to come close enough to get stabbed?" Still trying to joke, but her sense of humor was mild at best.